Raised pathway heat sink

ABSTRACT

Wireless electronic devices include one or more wireless antennas to provide for wireless communications. The antenna cables are routed internally within the device and typically noise from components located on a circuit board may couple to the antenna cables and cause a degradation in wireless performance, impact antenna sensitivity and cause packet loss. Utilizing raised pathways in a heat sink utilized for thermal transfer of heat to a housing enables tunnels to be formed between the housing and the heat sink. Routing the antenna cables through the tunnels improves noise isolation for the antenna cables while still maintaining the heat transfer. The raised pathways are configured to not interfere with components on the circuit board or components included in the housing. The wireless antennas may be mounted within the housing instead of on the board so no portion of the antenna cables are located on the circuit board.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 16/506,938, filed on Jul. 9, 2019, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/696,884, filed on Jul.12, 2018, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices typically contain a plurality of components (e.g.,integrated circuits, connectors, wires, resisters, capacitors) mountedto one or more circuit boards. Some of the components (e.g., ICs,connectors) may release electromagnetic interference (EMI), alsoreferred to as radio-frequency interference (RFI). The EMI may affectother components on the circuit board and may cause problems with theoperation of the electronic device. Some components may be sensitive tothe EMI. To limit EMI, the circuit board may include gaskets and/orshielding. For example, a gasket may be utilized around a connector tolimit the EMI that exits the connector or is received by the connector.Shielding may be placed around ICs that produce EMI and/or ICs that aresensitive to EMI. Accordingly, the EMI generating components may besurrounded with a shielding that limits the EMI that is emittedtherefrom. Alternatively, the components that are sensitive to the EMImay be surrounded with a shielding that limits the EMI that is receivedthereby. The shielding may include walls that are mounted to the circuitboard around the component(s) and then a cover that is mounted to thewalls that encases the component(s).

Certain areas of the circuit board may be considered noisy based on thedesign thereof (e.g., components utilized in the circuit board) andcertain components mounted on the circuit board may be noisy components.Noise may be defined as disturbances in useful signals associatedtherewith. Noisy components may include, for example, memory ICs such asdynamic random-access memory (DRAM) or double data rate (DDR)synchronous DRAM, high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) componentsand universal serial bus (USB) components.

Wireless electronic devices include one or more wireless antennas toprovide for wireless communications. The wireless antennas (ICs) may bemounted to different areas of the circuit board with antenna cablesextending therefrom that are routed on the circuit board. The noise fromthe noisy components may couple to the antenna cables and cause adegradation in wireless performance. The added noise may impact antennasensitivity and cause packet loss. In order to limit the impact ofnoise, the antenna cables may be routed across paths on the circuitboard that are determined, for example empirically, to be less noisythan alternative paths on the circuit board. Determining the less noisypathways that limit the impact on the wireless device may be difficultand may not provide the most efficient mounting for the wirelessantennas or routing of the cables.

FIG. 1 illustrates a high level layout of an example circuit board 100providing wireless connectivity. The example circuit board 100 includesa first connector 110 and a second connector 120 for receiving externalcables (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, HDMI, USB), a first IC 130 and a secondIC 140 for performing various functions (e.g., processors, memory), anda first antenna 150, a second antenna 160 and a third antenna 170 forproviding wireless communications. The first, second and third antennas150, 160, 170 include antenna cables 155, 165, 175 respectively. Thecircuit board 100 may include pathways 105 thereon that connect thevarious components. As illustrated, the pathways 105 connect the firstand second connectors 110, 120 and the first, second and third antennas150, 160, 170 to the first IC 130, and the first IC 130 to the second IC140. It should be noted that for simplicity only a single pathway 105 isillustrated for each connection but is in no way limited thereto.Furthermore, while all the pathways are identified the same (as 105)they may be different types of pathways.

The first connector 110 may allow EMI to pass therethrough and thereforemay include a gasket 115 surrounding the connector 110. The first IC 130may emit EMI and may therefore include a shielding 135 secured to thecircuit board 100 around the IC 130 that also covers the IC 130. Thesecond connector 120 and the second IC 140 may be noisy components withthe noisiest areas 125, 145 annotated. The first, second and thirdantennas 150, 160, 170 are mounted to different locations on the circuitboard 100 (three corners as illustrated) and the antenna cables 155,165, 175 may be routed on the circuit board 100 around the variouscomponents 110, 115, 120, 130, 135, 140 included thereon and the noisyareas 125, 145 thereof.

The circuit boards (and the components mounted thereto) and othercomponents may typically be mounted within a housing. The housing mayhold the various components and protect them from external factors. Thehousing may also enable one or more connectors and/or receptacleslocated therein, that may be mounted to the circuit board, to beaccessed externally. The connectors and/or receptacles may enableconnecting to one or more external sources via different cables and theconnections may provide, for example, power and/or communications.

Electronic and/or mechanical components within an electronic device tendto generate a substantial amount of heat. Accordingly, thermalmanagement of electronic devices is required. A heat sink is a passiveheat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by theelectronic/mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air, where it isdissipated away from the device, thereby allowing regulation of thedevice's temperature at optimal levels. A heat sink is designed tomaximize its surface area in contact with the cooling medium surroundingit, such as the air. Air velocity, choice of material, protrusion designand surface treatment are factors that affect the performance of a heatsink. Heat sink attachment methods and thermal interface materials alsoaffect the die temperature of the integrated circuit. Thermal adhesiveor thermal grease improve the heat sink's performance by filling airgaps between the heat sink and the device. A heat sink is usually madeout of copper or aluminum. Copper is used because it has many desirableproperties for thermally efficient and durable heat exchangers. Firstand foremost, copper is an excellent conductor of heat. This means thatcopper's high thermal conductivity allows heat to pass through itquickly. Aluminum heat sinks are used as a low-cost, lightweightalternative to copper heat sinks, and have a lower thermal conductivitythan copper.

As electronic devices are getting smaller, the real estate available forheat dissipation is also getting smaller. Heat sinks that extendsubstantially along the footprint of the electronic device and may besecured to and/or be flush against, for example, an upper and/or lowerportion of the casing of the electronic device may be utilized. The heatsinks may be in contact with a component generating heat, for example anelectronic component mounted on the circuit board, and spread the heatfrom that component along the surface of the heat sink (e.g., acrossfootprint of the electronic device).

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of an example high level electronicdevice 200. The electronic device 200 includes an upper casing 210, alower casing 220, a circuit board 230, an upper heat sink 240 and alower heat sink 250. The upper and lower casings 210, 220 may be securedtogether to form a housing of the device 200. While not indicated forease of illustration, the upper and/or lower casings 210, 220 mayinclude connectors, receptables, switches, indicators or the like.

For ease of illustration, the circuit board 230 simply illustrates afirst component 260 on an upper side thereof and a second component 270on a lower side thereof. The first component 260 may contact the upperheat sink 240 so that the heat sink 240 can spread the heat generated bythe first component 260 across the top portion of the electronic device200. For ease of illustration, the contact is not illustrated but theheat sink 240 may directly contact the first component 260 or thermalpads, or the like, may be utilized to make the contact. Furthermore, forease of illustration the heat sink 240 is illustrated as being flat andshaped to match the shape of the upper casings 210 (e.g., square) but isnot limited thereto. Rather, the surface configuration and shape of theheat sink 240 may be dictated by the configuration of the variouscomponents within the electronic device 200. To the extent possible, theheat sink 240 may lay flush against the upper casings 210 and may besecured thereto in some fashion (e.g., with screws).

The second component 270 may contact the lower heat sink 250 in order tospread the heat generated by the second component 270 across the lowerportion of the electronic device 200. For ease of illustration, thecontact is not illustrated and the heat sink 250 is illustrated as beingflat and shaped to match the shape of the lower casings 220 (e.g.,square) but is not limited thereto. To the extent possible, the heatsink 250 may lay flush against the lower casings 220 and may be securedthereto in some fashion (e.g., with screws).

SUMMARY

A heat sink apparatus comprising a main surface configured to be inclose proximity to an inner surface of an enclosure. One or more raisedpathways are formed in the main surface. The one or more raised pathwaysform one or more tunnels between the heat sink apparatus and the innersurface of the enclosure.

A device comprising a housing and a heat sink. The heat sink has a mainsurface adapted to be secured in close proximity to an inner surface ofat least one side of the housing. The main surface includes one or moreraised pathways that form one or more tunnels between the heat sink andthe inner surface of the at least one side of the housing.

A wireless electronic device comprising a housing, a printed circuitboard with a plurality of components mounted thereto including at leastone integrated circuit, at least one wireless antenna, wherein the atleast one wireless antenna includes at least one antenna cable, and aheat sink. The heat sink has a main surface adapted to be secured inclose proximity to an inner surface of at least one side of the housing.The main surface includes one or more raised pathways that form one ormore tunnels between the heat sink and the inner surface of the at leastone side of the housing. The one or more tunnels are to route the atleast one antenna cable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features of the embodiments described in the following detaileddescription can be more fully appreciated when considered with referenceto the accompanying figures, wherein the same numbers refer to the sameelements.

FIG. 1 illustrates a high level layout of an example circuit boardproviding wireless connectivity.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of an example high level electronicdevice.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective bottom view of an example InternetProtocol (IP) set-top box (STB) capable of providing high definitionvideo via wireless communications, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of an example IP STB, according toone embodiment.

FIGS. 5A-B illustrate a top view of a first side (upper side) of anexample circuit board in different states of assembly, according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 6A-B illustrate a top view of a second side (lower side) of anexample circuit board in different states of assembly, according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 7A-C illustrate variations of example heat sinks having raisedpathways formed therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of theembodiments are described by referring mainly to examples thereof. Inthe following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will beapparent however, to one of ordinary skill in the art, that theembodiments may be practiced without limitation to these specificdetails. In some instances, well known methods and structures have notbeen described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure theembodiments.

The trend for electronic devices is to get smaller and provideadditional capabilities, including wireless connectivity such as Wi-Fi(IEEE 802.11). Set top boxes (STBs) capable of providing high definitionvideo via wireless connections are no exception. The STBs may include upto four wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi) antennas to provide sufficient wirelessconnectivity. The antennas may support different frequencies and havemultiple frequency bands at which to communicate. The antennas may belocated at different locations within the STB to provide the bestcoverage. The wireless antenna cables need to be routed within the STB.The routing of the antenna cables to have the least interference is achallenge.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective bottom view of an example InternetProtocol (IP) STB 300 capable of providing high definition video viawireless communications. The STB 300 may include a housing 310 thatholds the various components therewithin. The housing 310 may include aplurality of connectors in an exterior thereof to enable differentcables to be received thereby. The cables received by the connectors mayprovide, for example, power to and/or communications with the STB 300.As illustrated, the STB 300 includes a power connector 320, a USBconnector 330, an optical connector 340, an HDMI connector 350, aninfrared (IR) extension connector 360 and an Ethernet connector 370.

As noted above, electronic devices (such as the STB 300) may includeheat sinks that run along, for example, upper and lower surfacesthereof. The heat sinks may be flush against an interior of the upperand lower surfaces. In addition to dissipating heat, the heat sink mayalso filter (block, restrict) noise generated by the circuit board.According to one embodiment, the heat sink could be utilized to limitthe impact of noise on the antenna cables if the heat sink was locatedbetween the circuit board and the antenna cables (the heat sink mayisolate the antenna cables from noisy components on the circuit board).One way to accomplish this would be to run the antenna cables on a sideof the heat sink opposite the circuit board. As the heat sinks may bedesigned to be flush against the housing (in contact therewith) or be inclose contact thereto, running the antenna cables between the heat sinkand the housing may create problems (e.g., not enable the heat sink tobe flush with the housing).

According to one embodiment, the heat sink may be designed to includeraised portions that would not be flush with the housing when the STBwas assembled. These raised portions are arranged along one or morepathways that provide one or more tunnels between the heat sink and thehousing for the antenna cables to be run. The raised portions should belocated so as to not impact other components within the STB (e.g.,connectors in the housing, components on the circuit board). The use ofthe raised pathways enable the antenna cables to be routed between theheat sink and the housing and thus reduce the impact of board noise onantenna cables and increase receiver performance. The use of the raisedpathways on the heat sink improve noise isolation while maintaining goodthermal transfer between the heat sink and the housing.

According to one embodiment, the wireless antennas may be mounted, forexample, within the housing instead of on the board. This enables theantenna cables to easily enter the tunnels created therefore and alsodoes not require any portion of the antenna cable to be located on thecircuit board (further limit noise). The wireless antennas may connectto the circuit board utilizing radio frequency (RF) cables and RFconnectors.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of an example IP STB 300. The STB300 may include an upper cover 410, a lower cover 420, a circuit board430, an upper heat sink 440 and a lower heat sink 450. The upper cover410 and the lower cover 420 when secured together may form the housingfor the STB 300. The upper and lower covers 410, 420 may be securedtogether in various manners that are all within the scope of the currentinvention. According to one embodiment, the upper and lower covers 410,420 may be formed entirely or partially of plastic. The upper and lowercovers 410, 420 may be formed of other materials that provide thedesired parameters (e.g., strength, weight).

The upper cover 410 may include, for example, a power button 412. Thelower cover 420 may include openings (not labeled) in, for example, aback wall for enabling the various connectors (e.g., 320-370) to beaccessed. The lower cover 420 may also include holders 422, 424, 426,428 formed therein for holding wireless antennas 462, 464, 466, 468. Thelower cover 420 may include a plurality (4 illustrated) of posts 425 forreceiving screws therein. The posts 425 may be utilized to securevarious components within the STB 300 to the lower cover 420. Forexample, the upper and lower heat sinks 440, 450 could be secured to thelower cover 420 by passing screws through holes in the heat sinks 440,450 into the posts 425. The lower cover 420 may include some type ofsupport (not annotated) for securing the antenna cables to desiredlocation thereon (e.g., in alignment with raised pathways in heat sink).The supports may be, for example, clips, brackets, connectors or thelike.

According to one embodiment, the upper and lower heat sinks 440, 450 maybe formed of a metal such as aluminum. The upper and lower heat sinks440, 450 may be made of other materials that provide the desiredparameters (e.g., thermal conductivity, price, weight, fabrication).According to one embodiment, the upper and lower heat sinks 440, 450 maybe relatively thin (e.g., 1.0 mm).

The lower heat sink 450 may include raised portions 452 forming one ormore pathways. The raised pathways 452 may be aligned with the antennacable supports in the lower cover 420. The raised pathways 452 may formone or more tunnels when the heat sink 450 is secured in place along thelower cover 420 (e.g., is flush to the lower cover 420). The tunnelsformed are to route antenna cables 472, 474, 476, 478 therethrough. Theraised pathways 452 are formed around the components located on thelower cover 420 as well as the components on the circuit board 430. Theraised pathways 452 may have dimensions sufficient to receive one ormore antenna cables therein.

The components on the circuit board 430 include, for example, integratedcircuits (ICs), thermal pads, shielding and connectors. Examples ofcircuit boards that may be utilized in the STB 300 will be disclosed inmore detail with respect to FIGS. 5A-B and 6A-B. The circuit board 430may include RF connectors 432 (only two visible) for receiving RF cables(not illustrated) from the wireless antennas 462, 464, 466, 468 in orderfor the circuit board 430 to communicate therewith.

FIGS. 5A-B illustrate a top view of a first side (upper side) of anexample circuit board 430 in different states of assembly. The circuitboard 430 may include a plurality of connectors along, for example, aback edge thereof. The connectors may be, for example, a power connector320, a USB connector 330, an optical connector 340, an HDMI connector350, an IR extension connector 360 and an Ethernet connector 370. Thecircuit board 430 may include a plurality of components mounted to theupper side thereof including ICs (the individual components are notidentified for ease of illustration).

FIG. 5A illustrates an initial application of shielding and heatdisbursement thereto. A gasket 510 may be located around, for example,the HDMI connector 350. A shielding wall 520 may be secured to the upperside of the circuit board 430 around various components that requireshielding. The components may include, for example, ICs and the ICs mayinclude a processor and memory. A first thermal pad 530 may be placed ontop of a first component generating heat (e.g., first IC) and a secondthermal pad 540 may be placed on top of a second component generatingheat (e.g., second IC).

FIG. 5B illustrates a secondary application of shielding and heatdisbursement thereto. A shielding cover 550 may be placed on theshielding wall 520 in order to cover all the components located withinthe shielding wall 520. After the shielding cover 550 is secured on theshielding wall 520, a third thermal pad 560 may be placed on top ofwhere the first IC is located and a fourth thermal pad 570 may be placedon top of where the second IC is located. The use of the thermal pads530, 560 and 540, 570 (above and below the shielding cover 550)for thefirst and second ICs ensures that the heat from the ICs is provided tothe upper heat sink 440.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the upper heat sink 440 may include a loweredportion 442 in alignment with the thermal pads 560, 570 to ensureconnectivity thereto. The heat sink 440 may disperse the heat from theICs upward and outward therefrom.

FIGS. 6A-B illustrate a top view of a second side (lower side) of anexample circuit board 430 in different states of assembly. The circuitboard 430 may include a plurality of components mounted to a lower sidethereof including ICs (the individual components are not identified forease of illustration). FIG. 6A illustrates an initial application ofshielding and heat disbursement thereto. A shielding wall 610 may besecured to the circuit board 430 around various components that mayrequire shielding (e.g., ICs). A first thermal pad 620 may be placed ontop of a component generating heat (e.g., IC). FIG. 6B illustrates asecondary application of shielding and heat disbursement thereto. Ashielding cover 630 may be placed on the shielding wall 610 in order tocover all the components located therewithin. After the shielding cover630 is secured thereto, a second thermal pad 640 may be placed on top ofwhere the IC is located. The use of the thermal pads 620, 640 (above andbelow the shielding cover 630) for the IC ensures that the heat from theIC is provided to the lower heat sink 450.

FIGS. 7A-C illustrate variations of example heat sinks 450, relative toeach other, having raised pathways formed therein. The heat sink 450includes a main surface 710 that may lay flush against an externalhousing (e.g., lower cover 420). The heat sink 450 may also include aside extension 720 in alignment with one or more connectors associatedwith the device (e.g., STB 300). The heat sink 450 may include aplurality (e.g., 4 illustrated) of connection means 730 for securing theheat sink 450 in place. As illustrated, the connection means 730 areraised tabs having holes therein for allowing screws to passtherethrough and be secured within, for example, receptacles. Referringback to FIG. 4, the receptacles may be the posts 425. The connectionmeans 730 is not limited to raised tabs, tabs, or screw holes or anyspecific number of connection means 730. Rather, the connection means730 could be any manner of securing the heat sink to the lower cover 420or within the STB 300 without departing from the current scope.

The main surface 710 may include one or more holes 740 therein to, forexample, allow components on a lower cover 420 to pass therethrough. Themain surface 710 may also include one or more raised portions formingone or more pathways. The raised pathways may provide an area for whichthe antenna cables may be located between the heat sink 450 and thelower cover 420. As previously noted, the raised pathways and theantenna cable supports in the lower cover should be aligned with oneanother. The antenna cable supports hold the antenna cables in place andthe raised pathways fit over the antenna cables.

As illustrated, the raised pathways may include a first portion 750 thatstarts along a first edge 702 and extends inward therefrom. The firstportion 750 may receive the antenna cables from the first and secondantennas 462, 464 housed on that edge 702. A second portion 752 mayextend from the first portion 750 towards a second edge 704 thereof, athird portion 754 may extend along the second edge 704, and a fourthportion 756 may extend inward from the second edge 704 towards a fourthedge 708. The portions 752, 754, 756 may be configured to route theantenna cables around, for example, the shielding cover 630 (illustratedas a dashed line in FIG. 7A for context) located on the lower side ofthe circuit board 430. A fifth portion 758 may extend from the fourthportion 756 toward a third edge 706.

A sixth portion 760 may start along the second edge 704 and extendinward therefrom. The sixth portion 760 may receive the antenna cablefrom the third antenna 466 mounted along the third edge 706 in thatcorner. The sixth portion 760 may connect to the fifth potion 758. Thesection of the sixth potion 760 extending inward from the fifth portion758 may be wider and/or deeper as it may be designed to route severalantenna cables (e.g., cables from antennas 462, 464, 466). A seventhportion 762 may start along the third edge 706 and extend inwardtherefrom. The seventh portion 762 may receive the antenna cable fromthe fourth antenna 468 mounted along that edge 706.

The raised pathways are in no way intended to be limited to theillustrated embodiments. Rather, the illustrated embodiments are simplyto show how the pathways may be aligned with placement of the antennas462, 464, 466, 468 and route around components on the circuit board 430and cover 420.

FIGS. 4 and 7A-C illustrate and disclose the lower cover 420 havingholders 422-428 for holding the wireless antennas 462-468, the lowerheat sink 450 having the raised pathways 750-762 formed therein, and theantenna cables 472-478 being routed between the lower heat sink 450 andthe lower cover 420. However, the various embodiments are not limitedthereto. According to one embodiment, the antenna cables 472-478 may berouted between the upper heat sink 440 and the upper cover 410 and theupper heat sink 440 may include raised pathways formed therein forproviding tunnels for the cables 472-478 to be routed therethrough.According to one embodiment, the upper cover 410 may also includeholders formed therein for holding the wireless antennas 462-468.

The disclosure is also not limited to heat sinks that are connected to,or located in close proximity to, upper and lower surfaces of a device.Rather, the disclosure could be included in heat sinks that provide heattransfer to various locations of a device including, but not limited to,front, back and/or sides.

Furthermore, while the disclosure has focused on an IP STB 300 it is notlimited thereto. Rather, the use of heat sinks with raised pathways toenable antenna cables to be routed between the heat sink and an outercover could be utilized with various types of wireless devices thatinclude internal wireless antennas. For example, the use of thistechnology could be utilized in access points (e.g., routers, extenders,repeaters), lap top computers, tablets, and cell phones withoutdeparting from the current scope.

Moreover, the use of heat sinks with raised pathways to provide channelsfor antenna cables to located therewithin is not limited to between theheat sink and the outer housing of the device. Rather, the heat sinkcould be located between a circuit board and other internal parts of thedevice without departing from the current scope.

Additionally, the use of the raised pathways is not limited to antennacables. For example, other cables that need to be routed that may beimpacted by noise of a circuit board may be routed through the tunnelsformed without departing from the current scope.

In simplest terms, the invention is the use of raised pathways on a heatsink to enable cables to be routed therewithin in order to limit circuitboard noise from interfering with the cables while also providingsufficient heat transfer between the heat sink and the component theheat sink is flush against, or in close proximity to.

While the principles of the invention have been described above inconnection with specific devices, apparatus, systems, algorithms, and/ormethods, it is to be clearly understood that this description is madeonly by way of example and not as limitation. One of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can bemade without departing from the scope of the claims below.

The above description illustrates various embodiments along withexamples of how aspects of particular embodiments may be implemented,and are presented to illustrate the flexibility and advantages ofparticular embodiments as defined by the following claims, and shouldnot be deemed to be the only embodiments. One of ordinary skill in theart will appreciate that based on the above disclosure and the followingclaims, other arrangements, embodiments, implementations and equivalentsmay be employed without departing from the scope hereof as defined bythe claims. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and allsuch modifications are intended to be included within the scope of thepresent invention. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, andany element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution tooccur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical,required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims.The invention is defined solely by the appended claims including anyamendments made during the pendency of this application and allequivalents of those claims as issued.

1. A heat sink apparatus comprising: a main surface configured to behoused within a housing, said housing including a first cover and asecond cover; and one or more raised covered pathways defined by themain surface that include at least one cable therethrough, wherein theone or more raised covered pathways extend in a direction toward thefirst cover of the housing; wherein upon securing the heat sinkapparatus to the second cover of the housing, the one or more raisedcovered pathways form one or more tunnels between the heat sinkapparatus and the housing.
 2. The heat sink apparatus of claim 1,wherein the heat sink apparatus provides noise isolation.
 3. The heatsink apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main surface provides heattransfer between the heat sink apparatus and the housing.
 4. The heatsink apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main surface is configured to besecured in a position substantially parallel to and adjacent to asurface of the second cover.
 5. The head sink apparatus of claim 1,wherein the cable is one of a shielded cable and an unshielded cable. 6.The heat sink apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heat sink apparatus isformed of aluminum.
 7. The heat sink apparatus of claim 1, wherein theheat sink apparatus is formed of steel.
 8. A device comprising: ahousing including a first cover and a second cover, wherein said firstcover and said second cover are configured to be secured together; and aheat sink having a main surface configured to be housed within thehousing, wherein the main surface of the heat sink defines one or moreraised covered pathways that include at least one cable therethrough,wherein the one or more raised covered pathways extend in a directiontoward the first cover of the housing and, wherein upon securing theheat sink to the second cover of the housing, the one or more raisedcovered pathways form one or more tunnels between the heat sink and thehousing.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the heat sink provides noiseisolation.
 10. The device of claim 8, wherein the heat sink providesheat transfer to the housing.
 11. The device of claim 8, wherein themain surface is configured to be secured in a position substantiallyparallel to and adjacent to a surface of the second cover.
 12. The headsink apparatus of claim 8, wherein the cable is one of a shielded cableand an unshielded cable.
 13. The device of claim 8, wherein the heatsink is formed of aluminum.
 14. The device of claim 8, wherein the heatsink is formed of steel.
 15. A wireless electronic device comprising: ahousing formed of a first cover and a second cover, wherein said firstcover and said second cover and configured to be secured together; aprinted circuit board with a plurality of components mounted theretoincluding at least one integrated circuit; at least one cable; and aheat sink having a main surface configured to be secured proximate to asurface of the second cover of the housing, wherein the main surface ofthe heat sink defines one or more raised covered pathways therein thatare dimensioned to house the at least one cable therethrough, andwherein the one or more raised covered pathways extend in a directiontoward the first cover of the housing, wherein upon securing the heatsink to the second cover of the housing, the one or more raised coveredpathways form one or more tunnels between the heat sink and the housing,and wherein the one or more tunnels route the at least one cable. 16.The device of claim 15, wherein the one or more tunnels provide noiseisolation for the at least one cable.
 17. The device of claim 15,wherein the heat sink extracts heat generated from the printed circuitboard and transfers at least some of the extracted heat to the housing.18. The device of claim 15, wherein the main surface is configured to besecured in a position substantially parallel to and adjacent to asurface of the first cover.
 19. The device of claim 15, wherein thecable is one of a shielded cable and an unshielded cable.
 20. The deviceof claim 15, wherein the one or more raised covered pathways areconfigured so as to not interfere with the plurality of components onthe printed circuit board or any other components within the housing.21. The device of claim 15, wherein the heat sink is formed of steel.22. The device of claim 13, wherein the heat sink is formed of aluminum.